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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848758">Stuck Upstream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Withstarryeyes/pseuds/Withstarryeyes'>Withstarryeyes</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Kageyama Tobio, Fever, Fluff, Gen, Headaches &amp; Migraines, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Hinata is a volleyball fanatic, Hinata means the world to everyone, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Hurt/Comfort, Kenma has anxiety, Overworked Hinata, Overworking, Panic Attacks, Practice match, Protective Kageyama Tobio, Protective Karasuno Volleyball Club, Protective Nekoma Volleyball Club, Sensory Overload, Sick Character, Sick Hinata Shouyou, Sickfic, So much comfort, Vomiting, Whump, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:00:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,083</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27848758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Withstarryeyes/pseuds/Withstarryeyes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For Shouyou Hinata, playing in a match is a given. Unless the control is out of his hands--unless he’s bullied onto the sidelines by the coach or the play rotation--he wants to be out on the court. Kageyama is his preferred setter, there’s nothing quite like nailing their freak quick attack--but he’ll do with just about anyone as long as he can jump and spike and slam. So when he wakes up, tired and achey and with something nefarious yawning it’s ominous jaws behind his eyes he doesn’t even consider staying home. They have a practice match that evening, what’s he got to do in bed?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Karasuno Volleyball Club, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Nekoma Volleyball Club, Hinata Shouyou &amp; Ukai Keishin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>420</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>oh YES</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stuck Upstream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>For Shouyou Hinata, playing in a match is a given. Unless the control is out of his hands--unless he’s bullied onto the sidelines by the coach or the play rotation--he wants to be out on the court. Kageyama is his preferred setter, there’s nothing quite like nailing their freak quick attack--but he’ll do with just about anyone as long as he can jump and spike and slam. So when he wakes up, tired and achey and with something nefarious yawning it’s ominous jaws behind his eyes he doesn’t even consider staying home. They have a practice match that evening, what’s he got to do in bed?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama may not agree--has not agreed, has already yelled at Hinata in the stock room, face red and eyes strangely worried, the emotion so foreign to see that Hinata misplaced it as pure fury--but Hinata knows he’d do the same thing in his position. He knows it. Kageyama could break an ankle and still set to Hinata. It’s in their genetic makeup, he thinks, it’s entwined in their souls. Volleyball, and all that comes with it, is what makes Hinata’s heart beat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pass it to me!” Hinata shouts, zooming across the court, just an inch ahead of Lev, whose tall height taunts Hinata as much as it entices him. He’s a little bit slow today, the beast in his head fully awoken now, breathing fire in the split between his eyebrows. The pain is heavy, thick, behind his eyes, spanning across his forehead and spilling into the nape of his neck like water into a basin. But he’s still here, still capable of moving, and he’s going to play until that changes. He can feel Kenma’s eyes on him, tracking him, narrowed with intent, and Hinata gulps. He’d barely made it out of Suga’s sights but Kenma may be the person to unravel this whole scheme. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For all of Kageyama’s protests, he still passes to Hinata. Even with a headache and what Hinata is starting to strongly suspect as a fever, Hinata’s got the best chance of scoring a point with a spike. Asahi is in the back row and Tanaka is staring down double blockers. Hinata is lithe, athletic, enthusiastic, and he’s currently a step ahead of Nekoma’s Lion, he’s going to jump and he’s going to reach the peak before Lev. The ball arcs across the court and Hinata jumps, feeling like he’s flying, like the only thing he’s ever experienced has been the sweet sensation of air on the bottom of his sneakers and the cool slap of a ball against his hand. It hits the other court, Yaku just barely missing the cover, too short on his pancake, and Hinata has a moment to celebrate before he comes crashing down on his own side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s one of those hits where he’s so enthralled he forgets he can’t stand on air and he lands on his tailbone, sprawling backward. The movement unscrews something in his mind, something that had previously been keeping the pain from leeching out and poisoning everything in his body. “Hinata!” Kageyama yells as Hinata lands, flipping over his back and landing sprawled staring at the ceiling. He makes a pained whine, and curls over on his side, tucking his chin against his chest.  It hurts, god it hurts, the pain is barbed now, piercing his temple and the side of his cheeks, snaking through his cheekbones to poke maliciously at his molars. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His stomach flips, his vision white and he breaths raggedly. The whole court comes to a halt, both Nekoma and Karasuno staring at him before they begin to move, a unit of slightly organized chaos. Suga reaches him first, grabbing his shoulders and sliding up to rest against his chest. Hinata moans but doesn’t fight him, instead trying to keep his brain from spilling out of his ears like melted ice cream. He’s dizzy and it takes a few agonizing moments for the court to solidify, in that time Kenma has slipped under the net and has taken up Hinata’s other side. Hinata, for the reasons he does anything concerning Kageyama, looks at him as if drawn there. He’s frozen, his eyes wide. Hinata doesn’t think he’s even breathing, as still as he is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re burning up,” Kenma says and Hinata tears his gaze from Kageyama, feeling unsettled and guilty and a little like crying, to stare at the Nekoma setter. His own eyes are wide, but he’s considerably calmer and it helps Hinata settle. He swallows, shuts his eyes, nods. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He feels horrible. “Do you think you could drink some water?” Suga asks. Daichi has made his way over, Hinata’s orange bottle in his hand. He looks angry, just for a moment, but Suga nudges him, frowning at the Captain, before shooting Hinata a sympathetic smile. It makes the pain flare in his head and Hinata whimpers, pressing his palms into his eye sockets. He digs so hard he sees stars. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shouyou? Did you hit your head?” Kenma asks, cool hands wrapped on Hinata’s forearm. Hinata shakes his head, instantly regretting the action as it draws out more pain, pain that he can feel down in his chest, burning against his sternum, pain that reminds him that his joints are being melted down and recast like forged iron. He shivers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, my head just hurts.” He’s slurring his words. Suga shifts under him. He whines again and hears Suga whisper an apology. Kenma coaxes his hands away from his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you didn’t hit it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, Kageyama’s been reset because he calls out across the court, “He had a headache before the match. I tried to talk him out of playing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenma’s gaze turns more calculating, his mouth going pinched. “Why play if you weren’t feeling well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Hinata says before he can stop it. He feels Suga stiffen behind him, and both teams turn to stare at him. Asahi looks closer to tears than ever before and even Nishinoya has turned sullen and quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could’ve been seriously injured, kid, that’s why.” Ukai’s made his way over, taking Hinata from Suga and crouching to be at eye-level. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not convinced he isn’t seriously injured,” Kuroo pipes up. Kenma smiles at that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata is beginning to feel overcrowded and hot. He feels his breathing pick up, quick but less effective at drawing in air. Someone is keening, softly, painfully, and it comes to Hinata that he’s making those noises. His stomach turns sour and he groans, turning to avoid his clothes before heaving up a mix of water and congee from this morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we sure he didn’t hit his head?” Ukai asks the team as a whole. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He didn’t,” Suga assures, “I watched him fall. He slammed his arms down pretty hard but his head never hit the ground.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata heaves unproductively a few times, which only shreds his breathing even further. He’s beginning to feel light-headed and too hot, like he’s been locked in a sauna for far too long. Kenma pulls him away from his sick by the tops of his shoulders, his eyes watching Hinata’s chest bop up for air without getting any. “Shouyou, you need to breathe.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t,” Hinata wheezes. Somewhere, his mind supplies that if he’s talking, he can breathe, but it doesn’t feel like it. The smell of his vomit makes him dizzy and he leans to the side, only caught by Kenma’s quick hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everybody shut up,” Kenma yells, and the outburst from the quiet setter is enough to make everyone pause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is Hinata okay?” Kageyama asks, voice pitched low.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He will be if everyone says quiet,” Kenma says, then tilts his head so that he’s blocking Hinata’s view of everyone. The dozens of eyes on him disappear until all Hinata can see are Kenma’s gold eyes and two-toned hair. “Breathe with me, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Under Kenma’s ministrations, Hinata feels air begin to return to his lungs. By the end he’s a shaking mess. He wants to crawl up on the floor and sleep for a million years but he’s embarrassed and exhausted and surrounded by people and all he really wants is to be alone. “What’s happening to me, Kenma?” He asks once he’s got enough breath in him to speak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You had a panic attack,” Kenma supplies, “I think it was sensory overload from the headache, fever, and crowd.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Hinata blushes, feeling even more like a baby than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, kid, do you think you could stand? You’d be more comfortable on the bench.” Hinata tilts his head to look up at Ukai, who is standing. His team has moved to the corner of the gym, lined up in a fidgety, quiet ball. At some point, all of Nekoma has moved out into the hallway, except for Kenma, who awaits Hinata’s answer as expectantly as Ukai. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so,” Hinata answers. The pain’s been reassigned by his panic attack, shoved back in its box at the back of his mind for now. It’s still present and, as he stands, some of it sloshes out to burn like acid, but for the most part he feels almost as well as he did before the match. Kenma supports him to the bench. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata feels something hot and sticky welling up in his chest. “I’m sorry,” he blurts, almost compulsively. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the match.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ukai crouches, his face smooth and concerned. For the first time Hinata recognizes how truly young Ukai is. “You didn’t ruin anything Hinata. We just wanna make sure you’re okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bottom of Hinata’s chin crumples, tears beginning to leak against his own will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daichi presses a hand onto Hinata’s shoulder. “We’ll reschedule, Hinata. It’s not a big deal. Should you have played today? Probably not, but you did and we can’t change that. What we can do is make sure you’re feeling better. That’s all we want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata nods, flinging himself at Daichi and burying his nose into the captain’s uniform. Daichi wraps him into a hug, rubbing smooth hands across his back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next thirty minutes are a bit of a blur. Suga fetches a thermometer and confirms Hinata’s fever. Kenma lets Hinata lean against him tiredly as he plays Mario 64, and they wait for Hinata’s mom to come pick him up. Kageyama keeps stealing glances at Hinata like he might die but Hinata is too out of it to comfort him. When Hinata’s mom finally arrives, he’s got a whole team to help him to the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenma walks with him, Suga behind with Hinata’s volleyball bag. Kageyma follows, looking constipated and shaken, holding Hinata’s bento and a practice ball. Hinata ignores everyone except for Kenma, who he presses his whole body weight into, but Kenma doesn’t seem to mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mom yells at him when he gets there and he smiles at her placatingly until she quiets down, obviously just concerned. He helps his teammates pack his things into the backseat, saying goodbye. Ukai tells Hinata to take the next week off of practice and only come back when he’s at 100%. In the end, he’s left with only Kenma.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kicks at the ground, scowling when that makes his head throb. “Thank you,” he tells Kenma, “for taking care of me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kenma tilts his head, always analyzing, always seeing through Hinata’s skin. “No problem. Just, next time stay home, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata chuckles, “Yeah, okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you next week for the rescheduled match, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That gets a real smile out of Hinata, which seems to finally calm down Kenma who, for all his support, never quite lost his concern. Maybe Hinata didn’t understand why someone would sit out a match this morning, especially when he could still play, but he thinks he does know. It’s not because of winning, or losing, or keeping himself safe (though he suspects people wish he would think it was). It's because he hates how he made everyone feel today. He hates that for a moment when he fell everyone reacted as the sun dropped out of the sky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It kinda scares him, that people care about him this much, but then it just makes him feel loved. He takes a final moment to look at the gymnasium, abandoned mid-game, before crawling into his Mother’s van and letting Natsu climb into his lap. he falls asleep on the way home, dreaming of flying and volleyball and comforting hands. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my first Haikyuu! fic. I wanted to get down some of the characterizations before I tackled a piece and I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I hope you enjoyed it! If you did please consider leaving a kudos or a comment and let me know if you want to see more fics like this! </p><p>Best,<br/>C</p></blockquote></div></div>
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